Fushigi Shinjitsu: The Mysterious Reality
by ChirikoNoSenshi
Summary: It has been seven years since the events of Eikoden, and the warriors of Suzaku and Seiryuu have reincarnated into the real world in order to fend off the gathering darkness that threatens the gods themselves. Rated PG13 for later chapters. Please R
1. Fushigi Yume: The Mysterious Dream

Author's Note: I have been unable to actually confirm the gender and name of Miaka and Taka's child, although I heard it was a girl named Hikari. If this is incorrect, I do apologize. Please inform me, and I will make any necessary changes. Thank you!  
  
The cool of the night air swept over the boy's face as he looked out over the sprawling cityscape, chilling his flesh enough to make him pull the blanket that lay across his shoulders closer to him. His eyes took in the lights of the streets and the stars, but his mind was on neither. Rather, his thoughts were consumed by the recurring dream he had been having for nearly a week. Every night it was the same: a scroll in flames, a huge bird emerging from the flames with a fire in it's eyes that pierced to his very soul.  
Every night he woke with a start from the dream, and every night he felt as though it were more than a fantastical image produced by his mind; it felt like a distant memory, something which he had long ago slipped into the deepest recesses of his consciousness, to sit in relative dormancy forever. But now it was coming back to him...and with each passing night, the bird's piercing eyes felt more real.  
  
Miaka sat up with a start, images of flames and feathers still dancing in her mind, her heartbeat swift. The repeated dreams of the revival of Suzaku woke her night after night, each time bringing mixed feelings of apprehension, as though these were a message from the god that danger was not far behind.  
"Miaka?" Came the groggy voice of Taka, the dark-haired man slowly sitting up, the folds of the covers cascading down from his chest to settle in a heap. "What's wrong?"  
Miaka looked over at Taka and sighed softly. Her lack of answer was nearly as effective as actually speaking would have been, for Taka understood fairly well, wrapping his strong arms around Miaka's shoulders.  
"The dream again?" He asked, quietly, getting a nod in reply, although the nod was nearly unnecessary. After five consecutive nights, a sixth incidence of the recurring dream came as no real surprise.  
"What does it mean?" Miaka whispered softly, echoing the question she had asked herself at least fifty times since the first dream. Could it be, she wondered, that this was truly just a random dream? Perhaps her own anxiousness brought on by the first dream had caused its recurrence? She shook her head slowly. There was more to this...and there was nothing she could do but wait until it was revealed.  
  
The sun rose slowly, like a fickle lover returning to her seat in the sky, to kiss beloved earth with her rays once more, brushing away the chill of the spring evening.. The boy leaned against the outside wall of the apartment, starting down at the cityscape once more from his high balcony. It was a quiet morning, over all, and he did not have to be anywhere until mid-afternoon. As such, he suffered from a combination of boredom and the serenity of the morning.  
A sound from behind him drew his attention, causing him to turn quickly. A tall man stood there, near the doorway back into the apartment, his cornflower blue hair pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a baggy white shirt and black pants, as well as a dark blue sash with a strange pattern, and an old-style Chinese hat hung on his back, held there by a string around his neck. There was a strange familiarity about him...  
"Chiriko," The man began, breaking the boy's train of thought.  
"How do you know my name?" The boy asked, surprised.  
"I saw you at your last chess tournament. You're a very skilled player, no da."  
Chiriko was a bit taken aback by this. He had never thought that, being a chess player, he would find himself being stalked. One might understand, perhaps even expect such behavior if he were some manner of pop star or something, but young chess players simply were not known for having fanatical followings.  
"I'm not here to cause trouble, no da." The man said, as though reading Chiriko's mind, (although it was more likely the uncertain look on the boy's face.)  
"Then why are you here?" Chiriko asked, after a few more moments of strained silence. The man just smiled a bit, as though talking with a particularly uninformed child.  
"Because I knew you in a past life."  
  
"Miaka, are you even listening?"  
Miaka looked up from her own thoughts, gazing up at her husband before flashing a rather innocent smile, accompanied by a shake of her head.  
"I'm sorry. I was just thinking. what did you say?" She asked, slipping her arm into the crook of Taka's arm as the two walked down a fairly busy street, fellow pedestrians passing by in a steady stream.  
"I said that there's a circus coming to town." Taka repeated. "We should bring Hikari. I think she'd like that."  
Miaka smiled and nodded, brushing some hair away from her eyes, absent mindedly taking note of a certain woman who passed by to her left. The woman was a bit taller than her, slender, and had long silver hair that cascaded half-way down her back, decorated with a number of clips and such. Her wardrobe was the thing which Miaka found to be particularly peculiar, though. She wore a long white robe with red trim, and a few odd accessories here and there. In her hands, she carried a scroll, which looked ancient and rather fragile.  
After perhaps a second of starting, the woman's gaze lifted and she made eye contact with Miaka. Miaka turned her eyes quickly downward, not wanting to seem rude by staring, but much to her surprise, the woman approached them, quickly..  
"Miaka, Tamahome," The woman called, once within a few yards of the two. Taka stopped in surprise, turning as he heard his past-life name.  
"Do we know you?" Taka asked, moving closer to Miaka in a protective fashion. The woman simply smiled faintly.  
"I am not surprised you do not recognize me." She reached into the loose, baggy sleeve of her robe and produced a glass ball. "You must gather your warriors once more, priestess of Suzaku." 


	2. Fushigi Shisetsu: The Mysterious Mission

"Who are you?" Chiriko asked the tall man before him. Knew him in a past life...bah. Chiriko had never believed in that reincarnation mumbo- jumbo. The man just smiled softly to him.  
"I am called Chichiri, no da. A constellation, like yourself. I am one of the celestial warriors of Suzaku," The man said softly, motioning a hand toward Chiriko, "As are you."  
Chiriko just shook his head, sighing. This had to be some kind of bizarre prank. In fact, there was probably a hidden camera there to catch his reaction to all of this. This man couldn't honestly expect him to believe any of this.  
"Look, I don't know what you're trying to pull, but trespassing is still a crime last time I checked. Now, if you'll excuse me," Chiriko said, walking past the man and through the open doorway into the apartment, "I have a lot of things to do."  
"You feel him calling you, Chiriko." The man said after the boy had passed. Chiriko stopped in mid stride, though he did not yet turn back toward the man. "I know you do. You see him in your dreams."  
"How do you know about the dreams?" Chiriko said, after a moment's hesitation. This had just gone from annoying to significantly creepy.  
"I had them too. All of the warriors are having them now. Suzaku wants to be summoned to this world."  
"So, what do you want me to do about it?"  
Chiriko could hardly believe he was actually even considering doing this...following the directions of a random person who showed up outside his apartment. Chichiri smiled and took the hat from his back, reaching out a hand.  
"There's someone I want to take you to see." Chichiri said as Chiriko took his hand after a moment's hesitation. Chichiri lowered the hat swiftly, and the two were taken into darkness.  
  
"My warriors?" Miaka repeated in surprise. "But I don't even know where the book is any more."  
"No, Lady Miaka." The woman said, shaking her head. "The warriors are here. We have been reincarnated into your world."  
"We?" Miaka looked the woman over with a ponderous look. "You couldn't be...Nuriko?"  
"No." The woman said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "I am--"  
"Taiitsukun-sama!" A voice came from behind Taka and Miaka, causing both to turn around, their gazes falling upon a tall, blue-haired man in conspicuously familiar clothing, and a young maroon-haired boy. "I've found Chiriko!"  
"Ch-Chichiri?" Miaka asked, then turned to the woman. "And you're Taiitsukun?! You're so...."  
"Young?" Taiitsukun filled in the blank with a smile. "Yes, well, reincarnation can do that to a person."  
"Oh, you must be Lady Miaka, no da." Chichiri said with a bow, "And Tamahome. I've heard so much about you, no da."  
"You look...different. All of you." Taka observed. Chiriko looked on, silently, seeming more than a little skeptical.  
"I don't mean to interrupt," He said, taking a step forward, "But what exactly is going on here?"  
"Well Lady Miaka here," Taiitsukun said, waving a hand to indicate Miaka, "Is the priestess of Suzaku. And you are one of Suzaku's celestial warriors. All of the celestial warriors have been reincarnated into this world to summon the gods before it is too late."  
"Before it's too late?" Miaka asked with a concerned tone, "What do you mean before it's too late?"  
"There is a darkness coming to this world, Lady Miaka." Taiitsukun spoke, her voice taking on a peculiar and almost unnatural grave quality, "One which only the presence of the gods can defeat. Without them, disaster will surely befall humanity."  
As Taiitsukun spoke, she gazed into the glass ball on her palm, as though she could see glimpses of the dark possibilities of the future in the dancing reflections of the sunlight. Miaka stared into the glass as well, her expression a mix of fear, surprise, and determination.  
"Where are the others?" Miaka finally asked after several moments of silence.  
"We don't know, no da." Chichiri chimed in with a faint sigh, "I was lucky to spot Chiriko at his chess match."  
"Take this." Taiitsukun said, holding out the glass orb to Miaka. "It will show you the way as it did within the book. Chichiri will go with you. Chiriko, you may go about your life for now. Chichiri will return for you when you are needed."  
"Uhm...sure, okay." Chiriko said, with a half shrug. Good enough for him, really, since he had a tournament to get to that afternoon anyway.  
"What will you be doing?" Taka asked, the question directed to Taiitsukun. The woman smiled a bit.  
"Trying to hold back the darkness until you find the others." She said simply, then turn and walked quietly away from the four,  
Miaka looked up at Taka with a sigh, wrapping her arms around him as though begging to be held close. Taka returned the embrace, gently.  
"Why does this have to happen again?" Miaka asked, barely more than a whisper, "I thought we were finally done with the book..."  
"It looks like the book has come to us again." He replied . Chiriko simply turned away.  
"Well...see you guys later, I guess." He called to them as he walked off, leaving three remaining. After a few moments, Miaka and Taka untangled themselves.  
"Let's go, no da." Chichiri encouraged. Miaka lifted the glass ball, gazing into it for a moment. Slowly, a character appeared. Taka looked over her shoulder with a tilt of his head, then spoke the meaning of the depicted symbol aloud:  
"Prince."  
  
The girl sat in the corner of a dark room. It was almost a closet really, normally used to store various supplies, but many of the boxes of supplies had not arrived yet. It did not matter, though. Nothing mattered any more.  
Tears dripped down her cheeks as she clutched a scrapbook full of notes and photos and odds and ends from her old home...no, her only home. Far better than this place, without any friends, without even speaking the language very well. She cursed her mother under her breath, for dragging her to this country, for ruining her life, for pretending nothing had changed since her father had died. She sat there and cried, unaware that she was not alone, her human eyes unable to see the disembodied entity that occupied the space beside her, watching her and smiling to itself.  
  
"What could prince mean?" Miaka asked musingly.  
"Almost anything." Taka said with a somewhat frustrated sigh, as he paced the length of their living room slowly back and forth. "  
"Maybe it means some kind of political figure, no da?"  
"But who would it be?" Miaka replied.  
"Or maybe some sort of pop idol?" Taka suggested, but was unable to come to a conclusion. A moment or two later, Miaka glanced down at the glass orb, which she held in her lap.  
"Oh! It has a new word now!" She said, immediately getting the attention of the other two. They gathered around quickly, looking at the character. Miaka spoke once more, quietly: "Phoenix."  
  
The man stared down from his thirteenth-floor office's window, watching cars go by, wondering what the people within them might be doing and thinking. It was a simple but effective diversion from his normal work day, which essentially consisted of sitting around and staring at the grain in the wood of his desk. Despite beign the son of the C.E.O. of Phoenix Technologies, heir to the technology giant, and an executive in the company, his father rarely allowed him any significant duties. And so the days dragged on in monotony.  
The man looked up as he heard the sound of his secretary's voice over the intercom.  
"There are three people here to see you, sir. They say it's important, but they don't have an appointment."  
He thought for a moment before giving himself a decisive nod and crossing the short distance to his desk in a few broad strides. He pressed the button on the intercom and spoke:  
"Send them in."  
After perhaps a half-second pause, which he mentally attributed to shock on the secretary's part, her voice was heard once more:  
"Yes, Hotohori-sama." 


	3. Fushigi Shojo: The Mysterious Girl

Author's Note: 'The Girl' who was introduced in chapter 2 is loosely based on a friend of mine (and by loosely, I mean very, very loosely.) Any resemblance to anyone other than said friend is purely coincidental.  
  
"You are...Lady Miaka!" Hotohori said, eyes wide as Miaka, Taka, and Chichiri entered his office. Hotohori was on his feet within a second.  
"Hotohori?" Miaka asked. The man was, indeed, a near perfect image of the emperor she had met years ago within the pages of the book. His deep and soft eyes gazed at her with a wonder that approached worship.  
"Yes, yes, that is my name. You are the priestess of Suzaku." Hotohori's voice had an excited quality that was much like a child who had just run into their favorite singer or actor on the street.  
"You remember me?" Miaka asked in surprise.  
"That's strange, no da...I thought Taka was the only one with memories of his past life." Chichiri said, placing a hand thoughtfully on his chin.  
"Of course I remember you. I have read of your adventures since I was a child." Hotohori reached into a drawer in his desk and produced a very old-looking, leather bound book with Chinese characters in gold on the cover. "When my great great grandparents came to Japan a century ago, this was their only and greatest treasure: The Universe of the Four Gods. Its stories have been passed down through my family for centuries, since my ancestors reigned as emperors."  
"We need your help, Hotohori." Taka said, with a nod, "We need to gather the warriors and summon Suzaku again."  
"Yes...yes, I expected you would say that." Hotohori say behind his desk once more, "In my heart, I knew that one day I would meet you in person, Lady Miaka, and that I would serve you as my ancestor did so many years ago."  
Chiriko turned to Taka, and spoke in a whispered tone: "I don't think he gets the whole reincarnation part, no da."  
"It doesn't matter," Taka replied quietly with a rather nonchalant shrug, "As long as he's willing to help."  
"Well...You should wait here until we find the others then, I guess." Miaka said, trying not to be embarrassed by Hotohori's worshipful gazes.  
"If you need anything at all, just call me, Priestess." Hotohori nodded from his seat behind his desk. Miaka smiled and nodded as well, then glanced over at the large, ornate clock on one of the office's walls. She gasped and turned to Taka. "We have to go pick Hikari up!"  
"Yui said she would take care of that today, remember?" Taka patted Miaka on the head as one would a forgetful child. Miaka nodded with a rather nervous laugh.  
"Oh, yes, of course!"  
"We should tell Taiitsukun-sama about finding Hotohori, no da."  
"I really did remember. I was just trying to test your memory, Taka."  
"Oh, right. Sure."  
"Are you two even listening, no da?"  
  
The girl had long since emerged from her closet hiding place. Hunger had eventually won out over sorrow and stubborn rebellion. At first, her mother had tried to make small talk, mostly concerning how wonderful things would be now that they had moved to Japan. Of course, it was fairly fruitless. She did not want to talk. She did not even really want to eat, but the sound of her own stomach rumbling would surely drive her mad were she to allow it to continue any longer.  
Once an hour had passed, her mother finally took the hint and gave up trying to make conversation. Another span of time passed in complete silence before the girl stood and retreated to her new bedroom, barren though it was. Once the door was securely shut, she curled up in a corner, not unlike her time in the closet, and closed her eyes, hoping for sleep to come and take her mind off of everything.  
The calm of sleep crept through her body, making her limbs feel heavy and her head feel light as she drifted off into a sound sleep. As her mind slipped into a dre4am state, the same presence that had been with her in the closet came to her and touched her mind.  
"Why are you here?"  
The girl looked up as she heard a female voice, soft and gentle. She was in what seemed to be a dark room, but a light shone on her, out of nowhere.  
"Who's there?" She called out, trying to see into the darkness. There was no answer for a moment, then the female voice spoke again, sounding closer this time.  
"Why are you here?"  
"My mother brought me here." She replied with a frown, "Who are you?"  
"I have no name." The voice said, with a very faint chuckle, "I have no name, I have no body, and you have no purpose. We both have problems, but if we work together, perhaps we can both be happy."  
"This is just a dream." The girl looked down at her feet with a sigh.  
"This is just a dream. But you can make it so much more, Samantha."  
"How do you know my name?"  
The voice laughed softly from just behind the girl. She turned quickly, but found nothing behind her.  
"I have been watching you for some time. You have great potential, but your mother is holding you down. Help me, and I will help you overcome your...obstacles."  
Samantha paused for perhaps five seconds, considering the words, then she finally gave a nod, closing her eyes.  
"What do I have to do?" 


	4. Fushigi Tabi: The Mysterious Journey

After securing Hotohori's cooperation, Miaka, Chichiri, and Taka set out once more in hopes of finding more of the celestial warriors. Spirits were high, as they already had over half of the group assembled, and already the next character had appeared in the crystal ball: doctor. This, of course, brought them to the assumption that their next target would be Mitsukake.  
"If I were the reincarnated version of Mitsukake," Miaka said, more to herself than the other two, "Where would I be?"  
"He could be working at any of the hospitals around here..." Taka said, ponderously.  
"Or a private practice, no da."  
The three walked slowly down the street, each deep in thought, considering where they might be able to find their former comrade. Distracted as they were, none of them noticed an orange-haired man running up the street toward them. Nor, in fact, did the man notice the trio in his path, being rather distracted by looking over his shoulder. Inevitably, the general lack of awareness lead to collision.  
Miaka found herself knocked to the ground as the orange-haired man ran into her. After a moment of being utterly dazed and confused, Miaka sat up and glanced over at the fallen figure of the man.  
"Watch where you're going!" The man shot as he looked back at her. Miaka opened her mouth to reply, but stopped short as she took in the man's appearance. He was young, perhaps twenty or so years of age, no more than twenty-five, she thought. His eyes were bright and burning with a kind of energy that was reflected in the fiery orange color of his hair.  
His eyes were the same, she thought. His face was different (although it bore some resemblance,) but his eyes had the same look to them, the same energy. And, she thought, his hair was orange as well, not a particularly common color. Besides, Chichiri and Chiriko's faces were rather different from their past-life counterparts as well.  
"Tasuki?" Miaka spoke after a moment of hesitation. The man halted, having been about to fling some manner of insult. After a moment of puzzled gaping, he got up and brushed himself off.  
"That's not my name. Who are you? What do you want?" He said, in a manner that fairly well assured that he was lying.  
"Tasuki! Get back here! You still owe me money!" Shouted a somewhat distant voice. The man looked over his shoulder with a frown and then turned, running off swiftly. Miaka scrambled to her feet to give chase, but was blocked by Chichiri's arm.  
"Don't worry, Lady Miaka. I'll get him, no da." Chichiri said, pulling off his hat and stepping into it. A moment later, Chichiri reemerged from the hat about a hundred feet up the street, cutting off a very confused and surprised Tasuki.  
"Right this way, Tasuki-san. Taiitsukun-sama will explain everything, no da." Chichiri spoke in a reassuring tone, even as he tugged the dazed man into the hat's vortex.  
"Uhm...do you think he'll be okay?" Miaka said to Taka as she straightened herself out from the fall.  
"Sure. Tasuki will get used to all this, I'm sure."  
"I meant Chichiri." Miaka pointed out, shaking her head. "Tasuki can get pretty violent."  
"Oh, yeah. Well, Chichiri's always been pretty capable of handling himself." Taka noted as they resumed walking, bypassing the very confused man who had been chasing Tasuki.  
"I wonder why the crystal ball didn't say anything about Tasuki, even though we were so close?" Miaka pondered.  
"I don't know. Maybe it only sees one warrior at a time." Taka suggested with a shrug, "Or it knew we would find him on our own. Who knows?"  
Miaka just shook her head a bit. Thinking about it gave her a headache...She simply sighed and turned to Taka once more.  
"Back to looking for Mitsukake, I guess."  
"Yes...I guess so." Taka replied. The two got perhaps five or six more steps before their attention was drawn to the side by the sound of a cat's meow. That sound would not have normally been anything special, except the cat seemed to take a particular interest in Miaka, as though the little feline recognized her. Miaka, of course, paused to pet the little creature, which purred contently.  
"Tama!" A voice from inside a nearby building called, just barely audible from outside. A few seconds passed before a tall, rather heavy-set man emerged from the building, wearing a white coat that indicated that he was a doctor. Miaka looked up, somewhat surprised, but said nothing at first.  
"Tama, you shouldn't go wandering like that. Your leg still hasn't healed." The man spoke in a deep voice, reaching down and snatching up the cat carefully. Meanwhile, Miaka looked him over for a moment.  
"Can I help you?" The man spoke a few moments later, once he had the little feline safely in him hands.  
"Oh, uhm, we're looking for a doctor named Mitsukake." Miaka replied, "Do you know him?"  
The man was silent for several seconds before he turned toward the door of a nearby building, a small building with a sign upon it, explaining it to be a veterinary office, pulling it open with his free hand. He glanced back over his shoulder at the two.  
"You'd better come inside."  
Miaka and Taka followed the tall man inside the front door. Miaka glanced around as she entered, observing the waiting room, wherein a small assortment of animals waited, along with their respective owners. A few steps farther took them into a small office, complete with a large oak desk, slightly cluttered by stacks of papers and folders which are typical of medical practices.  
The man took a seat behind the desk, and picked up a pair of glasses, placing them securely on his nose.  
"You are the priestess of Suzaku, I take it?" He asked. Miaka was somewhat taken aback by this, but nodded a confirmation. "I suppose you have already gone to see Hotohori, then?"  
"Yes." Taka answered, seeming rather confused by this, "You know him?"  
"Oh, yes, of course." The man said, "Our families have been friends for years."  
"And you're Mitsukake?" Miaka asked quietly. The man smiled a bit.  
"You might say that, yes." The man smiles further, "It is my family name. I am Mitsukake Kiyou, a descendant of the celestial warrior Mitsukake. I have been told since I was a child that some day the Priestess of Suzaku might seek my help, just as my father was told, and his father before him."  
"Oh. Well, you see, Taiitsukun told me that I have to gather the warriors again."Miaka explained, "Something about gathering darkness."  
"I will certainly do what I can to help." Mitsukake replied, "Although at the moment, I'm afraid I have quite a few patients waiting."  
"Oh, yes, we understand. We'll come back when we need you." Taka said, taking Miaka by the arm, and with that, the two left.  
  
Samantha stood on a street corner, staring off into the distance. The voice had told her to look for a man and a woman coming out of the veterinarian office. She had been waiting for perhaps ten minutes when the two emerged: a young brown-haired woman walking beside a dark-haired man. The voice had told her to remember what they looked like. She would be encountering them quite a lot later, it told her, in the tasks that needed to be accomplished. It had said something about celestial warriors or some such bizarre nonsense, but it really didn't matter. The voice made some impressive promises, and since she really had nothing better to do with her time, she had decided to go along with it, for better or for worse. Well at least it couldn't be all bad, she thought. The dark-haired man was very attractive, after all. 


End file.
